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Gold (Ryan Adams album)

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Gold is the second studio album by Ryan Adams, released September 25, 2001 on Lost Highway Records. The album remains Adams' best-selling album, certifying gold in the UK[1] and going on to sell 364,000 copies in the U.S. and 812,000 worldwide.[2] Adams noted that "with Gold, I was trying to prove something to myself. I wanted to invent a modern classic."[3]

Adams intended for the album to be a double album, but his record label, Lost Highway, condensed the album into a single disc.[citation needed] According to Adams, the label "took the last five songs, made it a bonus disc and put it on the first hundred and fifty thousand copies. Fucking my fans over and making them pay extra for a record I wanted to be a double album. They counted that as one record."[4] This bonus disc is known as Side Four; the disc's title reflects the fact that the bonus material makes up the fourth side of the double LP edition of the album.

The album includes "When the Stars Go Blue", which has been covered by artists such as The Corrs and Bono, Tyler Hilton, Bethany Joy Galeotti, and Tim McGraw. "New York, New York" became a notable MTV and VH-1 favorite following the September 11 attacks. "The Rescue Blues" was featured in the end credits of the 2001 film Behind Enemy Lines.

Adams' friend and former roommate Adam Duritz (lead singer of Counting Crows) lends background vocals to several tracks.

Adams received three Grammy Award nominations in 2002: Best Rock Album, Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for "New York, New York", and Best Male Country Vocal Performance for "Lovesick Blues".

Stephen King's 2006 book Lisey's Story includes part of the lyrics to "When the Stars Go Blue". Also, the song "The Rescue Blues" was featured in an episode of Scrubs (TV series). In 2011, "Answering Bell" was featured in the film and on the soundtrack to Bridesmaids (2011 film).

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ryan Adams unless otherwise stated

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."New York, New York" 3:46
2."Firecracker" 2:51
3."Answering Bell" 3:05
4."La Cienega Just Smiled" 5:03
5."The Rescue Blues" 3:38
6."Somehow, Someday" 4:24
7."When the Stars Go Blue" 3:31
8."Nobody Girl"Adams/Ethan Johns9:40
9."Sylvia Plath"Adams/Richard Causon4:10
10."Enemy Fire"Adams/Gillian Welch4:09
11."Gonna Make You Love Me" 2:36
12."Wild Flowers" 4:59
13."Harder Now That It's Over"Adams/Chris Stills4:32
14."Touch, Feel and Lose"Adams/David Rawlings4:15
15."Tina Toledo's Street Walkin' Blues"Adams/Johns6:10
16."Goodnight, Hollywood Blvd."Adams/Causon3:25


Bonus disc: "Side Four"
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Rosalie Come and Go" 3:54
2."The Fools We Are As Men" 4:01
3."Sweet Black Magic"Adams/Johns2:35
4."The Bar Is a Beautiful Place" 5:58
5."Cannonball Days" 3:24

Chart positions

Album

Country Peak
position
US[5] 59
France[6] 126
Germany[7] 51
Ireland[8] 17
Netherlands[9] 60
New Zealand[10] 45
Norway[11] 6
Sweden[12] 9
UK[13] 20

Singles

Year Single Chart Peak
position
2001 "New York, New York" US Billboard Hot 100[14] 112
Dutch Mega Single Top 100[9] 83
UK Singles Chart[13] 53
2002 "Answering Bell" Dutch Mega Single Top 100[9] 92
Irish Singles Chart[8] 49
UK Singles Chart[13] 39

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[15]
BBCfavourable[16]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[17]
The Guardian[18]
The Independentfavourable[19]
Pop Mattersmixed[20]
Pitchfork Media6.0/10[21]
Robert Christgau(2-star Honorable Mention)(2-star Honorable Mention)[22]
Rolling Stone[23]

Personnel

  • Ryan Adams – Vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, banjo, piano
  • Bucky Baxter – Steel guitar
  • Andre Carter – Trumpet
  • Richard Causon – Piano
  • Jennifer Condos – Bass
  • Milo De Cruz – Bass
  • Adam Duritz – Choir, background vocals
  • Keith Hunter – Choir
  • Rami Jaffi – Accordion
  • Ethan Johns – Drums, electric guitar, chamberlain strings, lead guitar, hammond B-3, background vocals, acoustic guitar, 12-string guitar, mando-cello, vibes, string arrangement, guitar, slide guitar, mandolin, bass, electric piano, celeste, harmonium, congas
  • Rob McDonald – Choir
  • Sid Paige – Concert master
  • Julianna Raye – Background vocals, choir
  • Chris Stills – Background vocals, electric guitar, bass, acoustic guitar, acoustic 12-string guitar
  • Benmont Tench – Hammond B-3, piano
  • Kamasi Washington – Saxophone
  • C.C. White – Background vocals, choir, solo vocals

References

  1. ^ "BPI searchable database". BPI. Retrieved 2009-11-25.
  2. ^ Q Magazine, September 2007, Page 63
  3. ^ Spitz, Marc (2003-11-24). "Who The F**k Is Ryan Adams?". Spin. Retrieved 2008-08-19.
  4. ^ Watson, Ian (2004-01). "Ryan Adams". Rolling Stone (Australia), January 2004. Rolling Stone. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "American Charts". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2008-11-25.
  6. ^ "French Charts" (in French). lescharts.com. Retrieved 2008-11-25.
  7. ^ "German Charts" (in German). musicline.de. Retrieved 2008-11-25.
  8. ^ a b "Irish Charts" (in Dutch). Irish-charts.com. Retrieved 2009-08-17.
  9. ^ a b c "Dutch Charts" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2008-11-25.
  10. ^ "New Zealand Charts". charts.org.nz. Retrieved 2008-11-25.
  11. ^ "Norwegian Charts". Norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 2008-11-25.
  12. ^ "Swedish Charts". Swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2008-11-25.
  13. ^ a b c "UK Chart Log". zobbel.de. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
  14. ^ "American Singles Charts". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2008-11-25. [dead link]
  15. ^ Allmusic review
  16. ^ BBC review
  17. ^ Entertainment Weekly review
  18. ^ The Guardian review
  19. ^ The Independent review
  20. ^ Pop Matters review
  21. ^ Pitchfork Media review
  22. ^ Robert Christgau review
  23. ^ Rolling Stone review